


Small Bump

by afewmistakesago



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/M, Maybe - Freeform, Miscarriage, sorry - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-12
Updated: 2015-04-12
Packaged: 2018-03-22 11:03:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,448
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3726349
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/afewmistakesago/pseuds/afewmistakesago
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Loosely based off Small Bump by Ed Sheeran. Miscarriage warning. Set post season-four, Rumple's curse is long broken.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Small Bump

**Author's Note:**

> This was my first attempt at a Rumbelle one-shot. Let me know what you think. I do not own Once Upon A Time or any of its characters.

Another day, another box on their doorstep. Rumplestiltskin smiled as he picked up the hulking box from Amazon, one of a continuous stream of packages that were being over-nighted to Storybrooke.

“What do you suppose this one is?” asked Rumple, setting the box down next to a sixteen-week pregnant Belle at their kitchen table.

“Probably something I ordered called a Bumbo – though, it could be the car seat. But it might just be the pack of onesies I ordered.”

“I’ll set it in his room, then, next to the rest of the boxes?”

“You mean her room? Yes. I’ll open them later.”

Rumplestiltskin kissed his wife on the top of her head, and then moved towards the room of their house that was dedicated to their baby – their baby, he still couldn’t believe it. He couldn’t believe it when Belle ran into his shop and practically threw the pregnancy test stick at him, and he surely couldn’t believe it now. But after painting a room a lovely green color, and looking through a book of baby names with Belle, the idea was beginning to become normal for him. A second chance, a new child to love and care for, the chance to become an example of a perfect and whole family. While the idea still surprised him to no end – he was still surprised Belle loved him at some points, Rumplestiltskin was mostly just nervous at his second chance to be a father. He already loved this baby more than he could ever imagine, but he loved his first child, too, and that hadn’t gone how he’d have dreamed. This time would be different, he assured himself every night.

“Ready for lunch? I’m starving,” said Belle, interrupting his train of thought as she came in to the baby’s room and took his hand, leading him out towards their door.

As they walked hand in hand towards Granny’s Diner, Rumplestiltskin noticed Belle’s steps were taking a bit longer than normal.

“Time to give up the heels, eh?” he teased his growing wife, to which she replied with a determined smirk.

As they were seated at Granny’s, Belle became a chattering machine, spewing facts about babies, ideas for baby names (Rose? Collette? Adam? Callen?), and planning out loud for her baby shower, which would be held in a month or so.

“And did you know, our baby is currently the size of an avocado? Rumple, that’s crazy,” Belle said as she smiled happily across the booth.

“Indeed it is, sweetheart. Baby Avocado will soon be in our hands, and I hope he has your beautiful blue eyes.”

With as much as they’d been through, he could still make her blush madly.

“Then I hope she has your nose, and your perfect hair.”

-

When they got back to their salmon house, Belle retired to their room for a nap, and Rumple had picked up one of the many books she had littering their dining room table. It seemed it was time for him to learn about third trimester effects.

“Rumple?” he heard, as he saw Belle stumble out of their room, holding her small bump of a stomach.

“Sweetheart? Something wrong? Do you need something?” said Rumplestiltskin, ever attentive to her every need.

“Something’s not right. Something isn’t right with the baby,” she whispered, staring at the floor as she held her stomach tightly.

Within minutes, the pair was on their way to Storybrooke’s one and only hospital, Belle’s eyes focused on nothing and Rumple looking away from the road to her at every moment he could.

-

As he paced the waiting room, Rumplestiltskin watched a man be informed about the birth of his daughter. “That’ll be me, soon enough,” thought Rumple, “or maybe not.” He scolded himself for thinking so negatively over a baby that was already bringing his wife and himself such joy. Belle was fine, and he knew it. Just a scare.

Then, Whale stepped out of Belle’s room, a solemn look on his face.

“I’m so, so sorry… All her previous test results were fine, but it just seems like her body rejected the fetus – I’m not sure why, we can do more testi-“ as Whale blathered on in a language Rumple wasn’t understanding, he pushed the doctor away and entered the doctor’s room.

His wife, looking tinier than ever, sat in her hospital gown as tears flowed down her cheeks. She stared ahead, softly shaking, and it seemed she didn’t even notice his presence in the room. He took a seat next to her on the exam bed, and let her fall in to him as her tears stained his shirt.

-

The drive home was quiet. It seemed Belle and Rumple were suddenly incapable of speech and their eyes were wet and their hearts felt empty. Belle wasn’t talking, but Rumple knew she was just as, or more, devastated than he was.

He thought as he drove. Everything he had been expecting had just been taken away from him. The doctor’s appointments lining their calendars with smiley faces would have to be erased, the invitations to the baby shower retracted. He’d have to call and cancel that maternity photo shoot Belle had insisted on. Belle. His lovely, beautiful, smart wife. His heart was broken all over again as he glanced her way. Still stoic. Together, they had worked their way towards both of them being happy, and now they had been anticipating this baby more than anything in the world. He was angry. Angry at God or the Author or whoever it was deciding it just wasn’t meant to be. Fate was a funny thing. It never wanted to work out in his favor. This hurt like hell, and he had only known for about an hour. How long would it take for the thought, “the baby’s gone, the baby’s gone,” to not buzz around in his mind like an annoying wasp? He wanted to wrap Belle up in his arms and whisper to her that everything would be alright but he knew she wouldn’t want to hear that right now, because it wasn’t true. Everything was not alright.

Finally, they reached their destination. As he ushered her through their doors, he guided her to their bed, where he knew she would lay for days, recovering from her miscarriage and grieving for a child they hadn’t even named.

-

A week passed. Rumplestiltskin returned to the shop, and socialized as little he could with the townspeople who came to offer their condolences. Belle still wasn’t up for much, and he didn’t blame her.

As he arrived home one night, he peeked in to their room and was surprised she wasn’t there.

Not in the kitchen, or their guest room.

The door to the baby’s room was ajar.

He stepped in quietly, and immediately saw his wife slowly rock back and forth in the rocking chair Marco had made for them. The light streamed in from the window on to her face, and it created a striking and shockingly sad image. A mother, rocking in her chair, with no baby to hold.

“Sweetheart,” said Rumple, crouching down to look her in the eyes, “you can’t do this to yourself. You can’t keep spending your days grieving. I talked to Dr. Hopper, and he says around now we should start to reintegrate to normal lives. Why don’t we go out tonight? We can go anywhere you want. Anywhere.”

“It’s my fault,” she whispered.

“What? What’s your fault?”

“Losing the baby. It’s my fault. It knew I was scared of it. Babies know.” Her voice was soft and filled with guilt.

“Sweetheart, that’s crazy talk. You and I both wanted this baby more than anything in the world, and we were both scared, but that baby knew it was loved immensely.”

She looked at him, her eyes watering as she thought.

“You were scared too?”

“Of course. My second child, with my unbelievably amazing wife, and I certainly didn’t prove myself to be a good father my first go-through.”

“There were circumstances with Baelfire. This was just my body,” said Belle, looking away from him.

“Sweetheart? That’s okay. That’s the universe telling us it’s not our time yet. We will never understand it, and that’s okay. But in a couple months, we can try again, and we can put all those damn boxes to good use.”

She laughed, “Yeah, I might’ve gone overboard with the ordering,” she sniffled as she turned back to him.

She took his hand, and together they made the slow walk from their baby’s room to the door. It would be a long road, but Rumple was certain they’d one day leave this house as three.


End file.
